Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.
The Portable Document Format (PDF) has been around for thirty years. But how did it become so ubiquitous? Rob Walker shares the interesting story.
The PDF keeps spreading not because Adobe or any company forces others to use it, but because of “millions of people all over the world,” Parmenter says, “just doing their thing.”
CBS All Access is going away and a new service will take its place. ViacomCBS announced the launch of Paramount+.
MindNode updated its mind mapping app recently with a feature many users have wanted. Along with editing maps, outlines can also be edited. Nodes can be added, removed, indented/outdented, and reorganized directly. Other features include: Improved color pickers in the Inspector; Improved support for files from other apps that use Markdown; Fixed an issue where the Inspector would close when the icon of the open section was clicked. The update is currently available for the Mac app, but updates to MindNode for iOS/iPadOS are sure to follow.
Netflix has reached the 200 million subscriber mark, COO and chief product officer Greg Peters said during an earnings Q&A. Mr. Peters also revealed a new feature coming to the service.
Malwarebytes co-founder and current CEO Marcin Kleczynski reveals the company was hacked. He believes it was the same nation state actor behind the SolarWinds attack. The state is believed to be Russia.
After an extensive investigation, we determined the attacker only gained access to a limited subset of internal company emails. We found no evidence of unauthorized access or compromise in any of our internal on-premises and production environments.
Crazy stuff, and we’ll probably hear of the fallout for a long time.
iFixit published a tear down of the AirPods Max and it reveals, among other things, that the headband could be interchangeable.
It was rumored that Apple wanted to design the AirPods Max headband to be easily-swappable like its magnetic ear cups. That feature was thought to be missing from the final design, but this joint is so complex it just might have one more thing up its sleeve…despite the joint’s complexity, you can detach the entire headband from AirPods Max with just a SIM card removal tool or paperclip, without even opening the ear cup.
Google’s Project Zero security team found a bug that lets audio and video be transmitted without user interaction in five messaging apps. These are Signal, JioChat, Mocha, Google Duo, and Facebook Messenger. All bugs have been fixed.
I investigated the signalling state machines of seven video conferencing applications and found five vulnerabilities that could allow a caller device to force a callee device to transmit audio or video data. All these vulnerabilities have since been fixed. It is not clear why this is such a common problem, but a lack of awareness of these types of bugs as well as unnecessary complexity in signalling state machines is likely a factor.
JP Richards has joined Apple as head of film marketing strategy for Apple TV+. He was formerly Co-President of Worldwide Marketing at Warner Bros.
Apple has added a new feature to Podcasts on iOS and macOS called Spotlight. It showcases rising creators in the podcasting world.
Twelve South introduced a new stand called ParcSlope that works with MacBooks and iPads. It‘s available to purchase for US$59.99.
Apple has shared photos shot on iPhone 12 from people around the world, showcasing what these powerful cameras can do.
Open source media player VLC has added support for M1 Macs in its latest update, version 3.0.12.1. You can find the download here.
macOS: * 3.0.12.1 is the first release for Apple Silicon macs
* Version bump to allow an automatic upgrade path
In 2020 Apple announced it would support browser extensions that used the WebExtensions API. But as Jason Snell points out, we haven’t seen many yet. One developer listed possible barriers for entry:
Limited time, lack of access to Apple hardware, unfamiliarity with Apple’s developer tools, Safari’s incompatibility with some existing extension-development tools, and the requirement to make some code changes in order to fit inside Apple’s security model.
I think another barrier is probably the US$99/year developer program fee. It makes sense if you’re already in the program to build an extension if it makes sense for you, but I don’t think many outside of the program will pay that just to release a new extension. Then again, it’s still in the early days of this new support.
A short interview with Apple’s senior director of fitness Jay Blahnik was shared on the Healthy-ish podcast. They talk about Fitness+, health and fitness in general, and why it’s time to rethink our mentality of working out. “Jay Blahnik is the Senior Director of Fitness Technologies at Apple, so it goes without saying that he knows a thing or two about what gets people up and moving. He shares how Apple Fitness+ taps into this, and also why it might be time to rethink where, when and even how you work out. Because, the world has changed. And your gym membership with it.”
Apple users with an M1 Mac who are interested in running beta versions of Microsoft Edge can now do so thanks to recent support.
Dating app Bumble filed its IPO on Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, mentioning iOS 14 privacy as a potential risk.
A nonpartisan group called Coalition for a Safer Web filed a lawsuit against Apple wanting the company to remove Telegram from the App Store.
Plain text is one of the most common, open file formats in computing. Andrew has been using four plain text shortcuts on iOS.
Citi analysts wrote to clients their belief that Spotify’s foray into podcasting hasn’t been working.
The cadence of Premium gross additions (through 3Q20) and app download data (through 4Q20) do not show any material benefit from recent podcast investments (that began in 2019). The firm downgraded the stock to sell from neutral. Spotify’s stock was down more than 6.5% in the afternoon.
Nine years after an investigation found that Apple and the “Big Five” book publishers colluded to fix eBook prices to compete with Amazon, Amazon has now been accused of doing the same.
The lawsuit claims that almost 90% of all ebooks sold in the US are sold on Amazon, in addition to over 50% of all print books. The suit alleges that ebook prices dropped in 2013 and 2014 after Apple and major publishers were successfully sued for conspiring to set ebook prices, but rose again after Amazon renegotiated their contracts in 2015.
U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder has denied Apple’s appeal to reduce a US$502.8 million patent infringement verdict.
The third rumor on Friday from Bloomberg involves Apple working on a podcast subscription service to compete with Spotify.
A report on Friday claims that Apple is working on upgraded MacBooks for later in 2021 with the addition of MagSafe and removal of Touch Bar.
A report on Friday suggests that Apple may be planning to redesign its iMac desktop computer. This would be the first major change since 2012.
